The second concert of the 151st season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will take place Thursday, June 13, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.
Guest soloist on the June 13 concert will be Anne Bice, voice professor from Valparaiso University. Ms. Bice has extensive performance experience and sings in a wide variety of styles. Prof. Bice will sing a suite of Irish folk songs, as well as Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.
The MCMB welcomes suggestions for repertoire. Requests received last summer to be performed on June 13 include music by Glen Campbell and the classic Poet and Peasant Overture by von Suppe.
The band will also pay tribute to the late Aretha Franklin, with a medley that contains her classic hits Respect, A Natural Woman, and Think.
The June 13 concert repertoire will be:
The Star-Spangled Banner
Octane by Quincy Hilliard
By the Time I Get to Phoenix and Gentle on My Mind by Jimmy Webb
Poet and Peasant Overture by Franz von Suppe
A Prayer for Peace by John Williams
Irish Songs arr. Robert W. Smith
Over the Rainbow arr. Warren Barker
The Queen of Soul arr. Paul Murtha
Rolling Thunder March by Henry Fillmore
Patriotic sing along: The Ultimate Patriotic Sing Along arr. Jerry Brubaker
Our tradition is to invite the audience to sing with the band at the beginning and ending of each concert. After the opening fanfare, the audience will sing along on The Star-Spangled Banner. Each concert ends with a familiar patriotic selection for the audience to sing.
The MCMB 151st season consists of ten free Thursday concerts, beginning June 6, and ending August 8. (During the week of Independence Day, the concert will be held on Friday, July 5.) All concerts begin at 7:30p and last about an hour. The band plays a wide variety of music, with concerts designed to entertain audience members of all ages.
All of the concerts are free, and everyone is welcome. School band members and young children are especially encouraged to attend. Parking on Lake Shore Drive is prohibited. Parking is available in the lots closest to the amphitheater, as well as the Senior Center. Entrance to the park is free with a Michigan City Park sticker; otherwise, there is a small parking fee.
Jeffrey Scott Doebler is the conductor for the MCMB, and Quincy Ford is the assistant conductor. On November 3, 2018, Dr. Doebler was named a Distinguished Hoosier by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. Dr. Doebler serves as director of music education and bands at Valparaiso University. He is a past president of the Indiana Bandmasters Association and the Indiana Music Education Association. He is founder and conductor of Windiana: Professional Concert Band of Northwest Indiana. Mr. Ford, principal saxophone in the MCMB, is retired director of bands from Michigan City High School.
The band’s announcer is Rick Carlson.